Arena The Boxing Discussion Thread

So who do you think? My head says Mayweather, my heart says Hatton. I think I'll go with the heart. Come on the Hitman

 

are you sure he's not permanently damaged already? Dude's all sorts of ****ed up.

 

Always the heart for me.

They wouldn't give him a boxing licence if he showed any signs of damage. But he's at risk, definitely.

 

One of the conditions negotiated in boxing is the size of the ring. I wonder what size ring this fight will have. I am sure Hatton would prefer a smaller ring.

One of the things Hatton says about mayweather's training, is that his glove work is good for hand speed, but he (Hatton) will not be there for him to use that particular skill.

At the same time, Hatton does a lot of Heavy bag work, where he throws power punches low on the bag to simulate a body attack. There is no way Mayweather is going to let him do that.

That is why I mention ring size. Mayweather is an amazing athlete, who is great on his feet. If he has space to move, Hatton does not have the hand speed or athleticism to catch Mayweather. If Hatton wins, it would have to be by KO. Hatton will not win a decision

If I had to pick a winner right now...I say Mayweather by Decision.

 

Mayweather V. Hatton tonight!

 

America: 1

England: 0

 

TICAL!!!!!!!!!

 

Hatton gets KOed!!!

I thought Mayweather would win....but not like that. "Hatton Wonderland" was not going to save him this night.

Hatton fought a dumb fight. He didn't go to the body, and head hunted the whole fight. He also admitted that Mayweather was the bigger fighter, and that he was feeling Mayweathers power shots.

Hatton should move back down in weight and forget about De La Hoya. If he got KOed by Mayweather, who is not a powerful puncher, he should not fight a bigger fighter with speed and more power. I was wrong about a Cotto fight as well. Cotto would be too big for him. 140 is a good weight for Hatton.

 

Agreed that Hatton should've gone for the body. He even admitted it himself, which was good, because I spent the middle three rounds screaming for him to start hitting body shots. He started off well with the jab in the first round, and then suddenly abandoned his gameplan further on. I'm not sure what was going on in his mind.

I wasn't happy with the ref, at all. He didn't let them get into it, and seemed to be completely anti-Hatton, regardless of Floyd's tricks with his ducking too low and using his elbows. Hatton may still have lost had Cortez eased up on him, but he would've had a better fight. Losing the point got him angry, and everyone in boxing knows that an angry fighter loses calculation and leaves himself vulnerable. That's exactly what Ricky did. He got annoyed, got reckless, and left himself open for Floyd to beat him.

When he went into full-flow, you can't fault Pretty Boy at all. The guy had the fight of his life; his best performance in years. His left hook was perfect, and Hatton walked into it by going straight into it to try and find a KO.

Points go to Floyd for his praise of Ricky in the post-fight interview.

As DRHJ9 said, Hatton should go back down to light-welter, knock Witter, Rees or Malignaggi about and take back the titles, and then retire. Oscar will be too big for him.

Unless he just wants money, and then De La Hoya will be perfect.

 

I wasn't either.

But all that would have been nullified if Hatton would have went to the body, IMO. Hatton was doing too much head hunting. Hatton was just pushing his jab as well. He should have thrown it with a little more force, in order to go down stairs.

It was an entertaining fight, and Floyd did show class after the fight.

I think Hatton is the best 140 lb fighter. Sometimes body stature is the limit in boxing. Hatton is only 5-6''. Most 147 lb fighters today stand between 5-7 and 6-0 tall. At least the champions do.

As for Floyd...I am probably in the minority who thinks that Cotto will not be that much more of a test for Mayweather than Hatton was. Floyd has too much athleticism and hand speed for Cotto. Also, Cotto gets hit way more than Hatton does. I think Floyd would out point Cotto, and lead on all scorecards by a good margin.

 

I'm seeing Cotto as nothing more than a bigger version of Hatton. He'd have a bit more power and reach than Ricky, but PBF would dance around him just as well to a points victory.

I'm almost disappointed, like it's the end of an era Hatton versus Mayweather got so much attention over here it was surreal. I was on a train yesterday morning and next to me there was a mother with two kids saying that they had to go to bed early so she could watch the boxing.

Incidentally, Hatton came 3rd place in the British Sports Personality of the Year about half an hour ago.

And Calzaghe came first.

British boxing has never been this popular.

Still, I doubt it'll last. My countrymen are extremely fickle when it comes to sports. Pretty soon this thread will go back to me and you talking about fights with boxers nobody else has ever heard of

 

I will say this, the Brittish boxing fans are dedicated to their icons. I think I will have "Hatton Wonderland" in my head for a week! THERE's ONLY ONE....see there I go...

A lot of Brittish fans at the fight however, were classless. I did not like that they booed and hissed at the US national anthem.

I think you and I should be nominated in the other thread for most dedicated posters...at least in this thread...I feel like I know ya

 

I will say this, the Brittish boxing fans are dedicated to their icons. I think I will have "Hatton Wonderland" in my head for a week! THERE's ONLY ONE....see there I go...

You think that's bad? When they started singing on the TV, I called a friend of mine and said, "Let's have a singalong. THERE'S ONLY ONE...RICKY HATTON..."

A lot of Brittish fans at the fight however, were classless. I did not like that they booed and hissed at the US national anthem.

Unfortunately that's a habit Brit fans have developed in every sport, against every country they play against, no matter friend or foe. They don't represent most Brits, and I for one was unimpressed.

I think you and I should be nominated in the other thread for most dedicated posters...at least in this thread...I feel like I know ya

Sounds good. I can manipulate votes by threatening to ban whoever doesn't vote for us

 

What did you think of the Hopkins/Calzaghe run in at the fight?

 

Interesting stuff. From what I've read Calzaghe wasn't expecting Hopkins to come over and start giving him crap, so was actually initially surprised by the whole squaring up business.

But, now it's motivated him more than ever to fight Hopkins.

The big shame is that he's in a no-win scenario. He wants to leave a legacy before he retires, his only chances at a legacy are from light heavies like Jones Jr and Hopkins, and they're both pretty much past it. Lose and they call him overrated, win and they call him overrated.

Such is the American media

 

I think if Taylor or Pavlik moved up in weight, Calzaghe would have some interesting options. 160 is as dead as 168. Combine them (at least the fighters, not division of course) and we would have pretty good round ribin.

I think a fight with Hopkins is the biggest money fight. While it might be a lose/lose situation for Calzaghe, it is still a fight that needs to happen in order for him to be considered one of the best. Kessler won't do it. Kessler has not even had the competition Calzaghe has had, and that is what is questioned about Calzaghe.

Hopkins is still a dangerous fighter, and always keeps himself in shape. Calzaghe is not spring chicken himself. I actually think the winner will get their due props for a win.

On another note, I think Hatton still has some interesting fights at 140. Vivian Harris wo
uld be good. Also, there is the Contender star Alfonso Gomez, and Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr. Chavez and Gomez fight at 147, but aren't big puchers, and would probably come down in weight and fight in the UK for a chance at Hatton.

Oh yeah, I hope I did not make you think that I was talking about all Brittish fans, when I made my comments about the booing of the anthem. I was just talking about some of the fans at the fight. Oddly enough, My Uncle was at the fight(lives in Vegas) and partied with some Hatton fans from London. He said they were the nicest people, because they did not care who you were, just that you like to drink a lot of beer, which he does

 

I think if Taylor or Pavlik moved up in weight, Calzaghe would have some interesting options. 160 is as dead as 168. Combine them (at least the fighters, not division of course) and we would have pretty good round ribin.

Interestingly enough BBC Sport just announced Taylor was interested in moving up to fight Joe. The only problem is that Joe has to literally fry himself to make super-middleweight, which is why he wants to move to light-heavy. He's not going to be keen on fighting at 168 much longer, though I admit I'd like to see the fight.

I think a fight with Hopkins is the biggest money fight. While it might be a lose/lose situation for Calzaghe, it is still a fight that needs to happen in order for him to be considered one of the best. Kessler won't do it. Kessler has not even had the competition Calzaghe has had, and that is what is questioned about Calzaghe.

Hopkins is still a dangerous fighter, and always keeps himself in shape. Calzaghe is not spring chicken himself. I actually think the winner will get their due props for a win.

While Kessler was probably Joe's biggest scalp, he's fought some fighters that have had decent records before meeting him. This list was made on a boxing forum I'm a member of, of Calzaghe alumni opponents' fight records before they fought him.

Eubank - 45 wins 2 losses
Ferreeyra - 51 wins 8 losses
Reid - 26 wins 1 loss
Sheikha - 20 wins 1 loss
Veit - 30 wins 0 losses
McIntyre- 29 wins 2 losses
Brewer - 37 wins 8 losses
Mkrtchian - 18 wins 1 loss
Veit rematch - 45 wins 1 loss ( the loss was too JC)
Ashira - 24 wins 1 loss
Lacy - 21 wins 0 loss
Bika - 20 wins 1 loss
Manfredo - 26 wins 3 loss
Kessler- 39-0

Sure, a lot of them aren't particularly household names, but most had decent records. It was also pointed out that they aren't big household names because they aren't American

On another note, I think Hatton still has some interesting fights at 140. Vivian Harris would be good. Also, there is the Contender star Alfonso Gomez, and Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr. Chavez and Gomez fight at 147, but aren't big puchers, and would probably come down in weight and fight in the UK for a chance at Hatton.

I doubt Hatton would fight Harris, especially after the latter's loss to Junior Witter. Hatton and Witter have a long-standing grudge, with Hatton dismissing Witter as a bum fighter, so with Harris losing that fight, Hatton would probably dismiss him altogether.

I personally see Hatton fighting both Malignaggi and Torres, the former in Madison Square Gardens, and if he wins both, either fight Witter and retire as undisputed 140 champ, or perhaps a showdown with Juan Diaz if he can move up from lightweight.

Oh yeah, I hope I did not make you think that I was talking about all Brittish fans, when I made my comments about the booing of the anthem. I was just talking about some of the fans at the fight. Oddly enough, My Uncle was at the fight(lives in Vegas) and partied with some Hatton fans from London. He said they were the nicest people, because they did not care who you were, just that you like to drink a lot of beer, which he does

Yeah, the fans that booed, much like the fans that cause trouble at football matches, are in a huge minority. Most English people like Americans (I personally have found every single American I have met to be great people), and if you like beer, then you're one of us

 

I would like to see Hatton fight Alfonso Gomez. Gomez whooped an aging Gatti. He is still on the minds of fight fans, and is the best fighter to come out of the Contender television series.

 

If it's the fighter I'm thinking of, I watched him fight (live) in the Contender UK vs USA series they held in England.

 

I think he did participate in that. Most recently he demolished Arturo Gatti.

 

Yes, it is the same fighter.

One to watch in the future, methinks.

 

From what I have read, from a couple of different articles, Hatton might go back to England and fight Gavin Rees.

I hope this is not the case. Hatton proved he could draw on American PPV. I would like to see him fight some bigger names.

There is no shame in losing to the best P4P fighter in the world. I hope he does not go back to fighting lesser fighters in sold out British Arenas. He doesn't have to fight in Vegas every time, but at least fight some Name fighters. Like it or not, fighting in the U.S. is better for a fighters career.

 

The most reliable sources I read say he's going to have 5 more fights before retiring. The first will be in the UK, for his UK fans (opponent possibly Rees, but Frank "I want my fighters to not get beaten up so I'll put them in with bums" Warren will somehow scupper it) and then he'll go back to America, probably for Malignaggi. Other opponents talked up are Witter, Torres, Juan Diaz, Cotto and De La Hoya (the latter two despite the welter loss). Though that is mostly fan speculation atm.

 

Out of all the fighters you just mentioned, Hatton V, Juan Diaz would be an amazing fight. Both are pressure fighters who go to the body. I still think Cotto is too big, so is De La Hoya.

I can't wait for Pacquiao v. Marquez. Marquez earned his draw, but I think Pacquiao won the fight. Pac man should have recieved a 10-6 score from all three judges in the first round, since:

1. he won the round
2. he knocked Marquez down 3 times.

If all three Judges score it 10-6, like it should have been, Pacquiao would have won the fight, and not get a draw.

 

I'm looking forward to that too.

And, rumour has it, current World Cruiserweight No. 1 David Haye is to have his first serious test at Heavyweight since moving up, against Hasim Rahman in March. Which is a great start for him considering other Brit heavyweights have fought nobody, with the exception of Danny Williams who managed to beat Tyson but got owned by Vitali. Haye is currently the guy I'm looking to to break the Russian hold on the Heavyweight scene and bring the titles back to the West.